Luna's Vacation
by Sherra-sama
Summary: *Chapter 3 is up!!* Little mazoku -need- sugar, so what do they do? Well, they don't ask Luna for some!! If you want to find out what the little terrors did, R&R!!
1. Prologue

~Accursed Disclaimer from Phibby's Realm: I do not own Slayers. Someone else whose name I cannot remember does.  
  
Author's Notes: I'm not following any timeline, and I know that the Slayers didn't know each other when they were kids. This is the prologue. I finished it late at night, so it's a quickly written ending. Sorry. Enjoy!  
  
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Luna Inverse sank back on the sofa and sighed. Her little sister, Lina, had gone over to Seyruun for a sleepover weekend with the little princess and some other brats. This meant that Luna could relax and not worry about the tiny terror eating everything, or-Cepheid forbid-blow something up. She mentally cursed herself for teaching the girl Fireball, Flare Arrow, Freeze Arrow...what else? Luna groaned, not wanting to remember the other things she had taught her little sister.  
  
Luna looked at the clock, but remembered that she was on vacation. She sighed. She wasn't used to the quiet, but she could very easily get used to it. She stood up and stretched.  
  
"Ah, there you are, Luna-chan!!" A voice chirped from behind her. Luna spun around to face the intruder. "Z-Zelas?! What are YOU doing here?!" The petite mazoku grinned sheepishly. "Well, you see...we, the Five under Ruby- Eyed-sama, have very, very important business to attend to, and I can't bring Xel-kun here with..." "Xel-kun?" Luna said, and looked down, and saw a small child, about six, maybe seven, holding onto Zelas' right hand, hiding partially behind her dress. He was looking up at Luna through closed eyes, and his violet hair was neatly cut just above his shoulders, very much like her own violet hair.  
  
"What's the big idea bringing your General-Priest here?!" Luna hissed through her teeth, "The people here don't like mazoku!! We're lucky they put up with your frequent visits!!" "They put up with me because if they didn't, they know I'd kill them all, and that there's nothing you could do about it, Knight of Cepheid. Your position is high, but not as high as mine. I was thinking that if you watched Xelloss here, they wouldn't bother him, and I'd be free to do what I have to. I can't leave him alone at the island, you know." Zelas said. Luna frowned. Her friend had a point. Damn it!! And there were quite a few times that Zelas had convinced her elder siblings to leave Zephilia alone. She owed her at least this much. "Fine," she said, defeated, "I'll watch him."  
  
"I knew you'd come through!!" Zelas cried, overjoyed, flinging her arms around her best friend. She turned toward Xelloss, and knelt down in front of him. "Listen to Luna-chan; I want a good report when I get back, k?" Xelloss looked up at his master. "...k...when will you come back...?" Zelas stood up, frowning. "I'm not sure..." "ZELAS!!" Luna shrieked, "What do you mean 'I'm not sure?' You don't even know when you're going to pick him up?!" Zelas laughed nervously, "We shouldn't take too long..." Luna sighed as she looked at her friend. "What are your older siblings going to do with their priests and generals?" She asked. Zelas paused thoughtfully before replying, "They all have older servants to take care of them. Phibrizzo's minions are old enough to be left alone, but they're busy in the underworld; they can't watch Xelloss. Garv's priest and general have business to take care of, so I don't know what's going to happen to his young servants. Dolphin's priestess and general are quite open for babysitting, but I'd rather leave Xelloss at home than leave him in her minions' care. Dynast's priests are going to watch his little general, though I doubt his priests are mature enough for that; they have the mentality of ten-year-olds half the time. Oh, well. His minions, his choice. I had to leave Xelloss with you; there's no one else to take him." "What exactly do you have to do?" Luna asked. "Sore wa himitsu desu," Zelas grinned secretively. Luna glared at Zelas. Zelas just kept on smiling.  
  
"Anyway," Zelas continued, "Here's the List. I want him in bed by 10, don't let him have anything sweet after 8; he can't get to sleep that way. He feeds frequently, so he can be annoying. I suggest letting him wander about after dark so he can scare drunks and the like. Just call him back with telepathy-don't look at me like that I know you can use telepathy- he'll come right away. If he gets into trouble out there he can kill them, or call my wolves for backup...hmmm...what else...oh!" Zelas pulled a large leather bag out from subspace. "Here're some toys and implements of torture, so he doesn't get bored. His staff is...somewhere. It's funny when he carries it about; the thing's taller than me. I'm sure you can manage the rest, new?" Zelas finished. "......." Luna looked up from her notebook, "I got it. Don't worry; I'm sure he'll be fine." Zelas grinned at her friend, white fangs glinting in the light. "I know," she said. She turned toward the young mazoku. "Be good and listen to Luna-chan, k? I want a good report when I get back...sometime in the future." She said to Xelloss, who nodded in affirmation. Zelas handed Luna the bag and teleported away.  
  
Luna looked down at Xelloss, who had settled down on the floor, and was looking up at Luna with the Innocent Little Kid face. Luna put the leather bag down and began to sift through it. "Hmmm, now let's see......is this stuff really appropriate for you?" Luna said, more to herself than to Xelloss, though the question was directed at him. She turned to the ultra- kawaii little mazoku. "I need you to pretend that you are a human, okay? The people here have a fetish about demon exterminating, and I for one would rather not get into a fight, or -Cephied forbid- face an angry mob. Can you do that?" Luna asked. "Hai!" Xelloss smiled brightly and nodded. "That makes life easier," Luna said, relieved. "Let's see...I have to go shopping today, and clean, and train, and get ready for work on Monday, and..." Luna continued her list, while Xelloss sweatdropped.  
  
He decided to tour the house on his own. He looked around. He was in the living room. There was the front door, stair upstairs, the kitchen, and a closed door to choose from. He opened the closed door. It lead into the basement. Slowly, he went down the stairs. Each creaked as though the stairs were millennia old and would cave in at any moment. He summoned his staff to himself, and it floated alongside him, giving off a faint glow the color of fresh blood, just enough to see by. The room had an ethereal feel to it, like any basement would. It was full of storage containers and the like. Just an ordinary basement. He went back upstairs, staff in tow. Luna turned toward him, saying, "There you are! Come on; I need to go shopping and you have to come with. You may not want to bring your staff with." Saying that, she grabbed little Xelloss by the arm and pulled him out of the house and onto the street.  
  
::and so ends the prologue::  
  
::sighs:: I hate prologues; the story will get better in the upcoming chapters. That is, of course, assuming you readers will review. If I don't get any reviews, I'll not post any more on ff.net. So review!! Please? 


	2. Chapter 1

~Disclaimer: I don't own Slayers, nor am I claiming to own it in any way, so don't sue.  
  
Author's Notes of DOOM!!: um...this is almost violent. Hmm...Seeing as NO ONE reviewed chap. 2 for "Caught on Tape," I'll assume that no one liked it/read it, so unless I get a total of 14 reviews for it, consider it discontinued. Same goes for the rest of my stories: you no review, I no post more.  
  
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Xelloss found himself being dragged out of the house by the woman that Lord Beastmaster had left him with. She had to go "shopping." What was this "shopping?" Xelloss fell in step just behind Luna as he decided to observe and see what "shopping" was.  
  
They entered the town square. Luna received many an odd look because of the child that was trailing behind her that had an uncanny resemblance to her. The gossipy women of the town quickly commenced with this new topic of discussion, only to quickly be silenced by Luna's Death Glare. Not that anyone could actually see her eyes; her bangs kept them obscured from sight. It was how her head was bowed, with her lips set in a grim line that alerted the townspeople to the Cepheid Knight's displeasure. The thing that was certain was that Luna Inverse's glare could (most likely) kill. She intimidated the townsfolk without meaning to, but that was all well and good as far as she was concerned. She didn't want them poking their noses where they didn't belong- in her business.  
  
Everyone in town knew what Luna was, but a point was made so that this tidbit of information didn't leak out. If some of the other kingdoms figured it out....Luna shuddered to think of the chaos that would inevitably ensue. Many of the rulers, Prince Philionel of Saillune in particular, would want Luna to go and challenge (and kill) most, if not all of the higher ranking Mazoku. The very idea was laughable. Sure, she had Ceipheed's soul (and consciousness, when he wasn't sleeping) and a bit of his power, but there was no chance whatsoever of her beating a piece of Shabranigdo or even one of his Dark Generals. If the hierarchies of the Mazoku and Shinzoku were to be compared, Luna's position would be around and about a priest or general of one of the Dark Generals. That was only a rough approximation, of course, seeing as how Cepheid split his power between four, and Shabranigdo split his between five. It was best that no one knew what she was. That, and the fact that committing genocide against the mazoku would screw their world over completely; they needed a balanced chaos to continue on. So low profile was the key.  
  
While Luna had been musing, Xelloss had been quietly observing the townsfolk's reactions to Luna. It seemed as though she was some sort of a figure of authority, or maybe she just scared people. It was hard to tell with humans, but he was going with the latter. He wasn't scared of her, though; she was a nice friend of Master's. People shushed their whispered conversations when Luna approached with Xelloss in tow, then continued them as soon as Luna was out of earshot. Xelloss wasn't out of earshot, though, and he didn't like what they were saying about Luna-san and himself at all. He mentally resolved to kill them later. Lord Beastmaster had always said that if a human was annoying him and he had no use for it, kill it. He wasn't about to go and disobey Lord Beastmaster, either. His innocent countenance was suddenly pierced by a feral grin that disappeared just as suddenly when Luna turned toward him. "Keep up," she commanded, in a near monotone. She must use this tone for all little children, Xelloss reasoned. He was a child, but not in human terms. Mazoku are immortal, so they age more slowly than humans, if that can even be called aging. It would probably be more appropriate to call it maturing. Oh, well. Xelloss quickened his pace slightly and continued to look around. Were they "shopping" now? No, this can't be it; they were walking briskly. Many of the villagers shied away from Luna as she strode past.  
  
The other children eyed Xelloss curiously. None dared approach him, though. Their parents were leery of Luna-san, and so they were leery of her as well. Luna did her shopping, and Xelloss discovered that "shopping" was when a human replenished its food stores, or bought clothing or jewelry or furniture or other material possessions. They traded amounts of "money" for the merchandise. Mazoku have no need for money, of course, but Lord Beastmaster has a lot of it. It was left as offerings in her temples, and she hoarded it all. She buys wine from Luna-san with it.  
  
Xelloss tired of tailing Luna and he wandered off when her back was turned. His staff had been big and bulky and not fun at all to carry around, so he had willed it into a pocket dimension a while back. He looked all around at the main streets and alleys, side streets and plazas, mentally mapping out the area. He'd have a good time hunting tonight. He was happily wandering around in a rather dingy alley; it could stand to be hosed down several times, when a group of about five or six human boys came out from a turn just ahead of Xelloss and stood in his path. They had seen a small child, about six, wandering around alone and unprotected, wearing -expensive- clothing. It looked to be silk, and he was wearing a set of four talismans, one at his neck, one on his belt, and two on his wrists. They were ten years old and therefore (apparently) older than little Xelloss, who was beaming cutely at them as if they were of absolutely no threat in the world.  
  
"Well, well, lookie what we got here," one of them said in a voice that would have sounded tough if it hadn't been plagued with a baby like accent. The kid stumbled over his words, and it was really quite funny. "I haven't seen you around, you must be new. What's your name?" The kid continued, oblivious to how amusing he was to his intended victim. Xelloss smiled. This was too perfect. Here it was, in the middle of the day, and his prey had just sauntered up to him. People like this were so much fun to play with. He extended his index finger and shook it at the group, saying "sore wa himitsu desu" in an innocently mocking tone.  
  
This was too much for the kid. This little freak dared mock -him-? Who did this little kid think he was? Not only was he half their size, but he was outnumbered!! He thought it was a joke!! He was just standing there, eyes closed, and an expectant smile on his lips. The kid swung at Xelloss, who used his inhuman speed to dodge it, and kick the kid's legs out from under him. The kid landed hard, and the wind was knocked out of him.  
  
His friends ran forward, angered at this child who had just knocked their leader over!! The kids had vicious intent now, and they'd do more than just rob Xelloss if they could. Xelloss decided that this was sufficient danger for him to be in in order to counterattack, and he concentrated for a moment on a nifty little spell that Lord Beastmaster had taught him only about two weeks ago. He still needed practice with it, and this was an ideal opportunity to do so. It had an incantation, but it was recited mentally, so all the boys saw was Xelloss looking serious for a second, then he opened his violet, slitted eyes. The next thing anyone knew was that six boys were lying dead in the alley. Xelloss was right next to Luna, completely free of suspicion, seeing as it happened about a half-mile away. That had gone well; the spell was cast correctly, and no one could possibly suspect a thing, not that they could do anything about it; who were they to prosecute a Mazoku priest/general?  
  
Luna looked down at Xelloss, who had just teleported back to her side. He had done something, but what? She shuddered to think about it. "Come on," she said in her commanding near-monotone, "I'm done; we're going home." Luna turned and headed back toward her house, Xelloss following closely behind. They soon arrived back at Luna's house, and she showed Xelloss the guest room that he would be staying. She then left him alone to go do...something. Xelloss stood in the room, surveying it. It wasn't as big or lavish as his room on Wolf Pack Island, but it would do. The color theme was white, white, and more white. Did I mention white? The house was fairly big as houses go, with multiple guest rooms, bathrooms, a parlor, living room, family room, bedrooms, kitchen, basement, etc. Xelloss put his stuff away, which consisted of his staff, his staff...and that's it. Everything else that he could possibly desire was conveniently stashed away in a little pocket dimension.  
  
Now that Xelloss was "settled in," he needed something to do. He was -bored. - Lord Beastmaster had forbid him to kill unnecessarily while he was with Luna-san, so that was out of the question. He needed someone to play with, but who? Certainly not the human children; he'd rather pledge loyalty to Cepheid, and Luna-san didn't seem like the type to spend more time than was necessary with children. Which left...Xelloss smiled widely as he sent a telepathic message to someone. THIS was gonna be -fun.-  
  
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ano...that was short, but I'll post it anyway. "Frozen Summer" is up next for an update! Yay! Please R&R!!!!!! 


	3. Unexpected guests

~Disclaimer #2032248: I do not own Slayers, nor am I claiming to. I own this version of Grau and Grou. Don't steal them. I know that this is killing the timeline and breaking numerous rules, but this isn't my serious fic. My only serious fic is Frozen Summer. If you like to flame for discrepancies, then go and weed through that, but I don't think there are any that I don't know about.  
  
Author's Notes: I wrote this before finishing chapter 7 for Frozen Summer. O.o If you have any questions or comments, ask away. E-mail me, or ask in a review. Either way, it gets to my E-mail Box. ^^; Feedback is most welcome and encouraged! I can't think of anything else to say, so here's Chapter 2!  
  
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Xelloss was sitting in a corner of the room, polishing his staff, as he waited for the person he called to come. Suddenly, the space in front of him blurred, and two figures teleported in. "Why do I have to wear this thing?" a mournful voice was saying as its form solidified. "Because you're too weak to take on a human form, and you'll make the humans suspicious if you prance around in your normal form!" A second voice snapped, as though it had explained that way too many times today. As the second voice ended its statement, its form solidified, revealing.....chibi Valgarv. Behind him, the first voice turned out to be a little Saygram, who had a paper bag crammed over his head. There was a smiley face scrawled on the bag with black crayon. Saygram's eye was visible through the thin brown paper due to its glowing.  
  
Xelloss unsuccessfully tried to stifle a laugh when he saw Saygram. "What's with the bag?" he giggled. Valgarv smirked. "Saygram's really ugly, so I made him a mask. I even drew a face on it." Valgarv frowned, thoughtfully. "There aren't any air holes, though. Rashart and Raltark said that if I was gonna go out, I had to take -him- with," he continued, jerking a thumb at Saygram. Little Valgarv was decked out in his normal outfit, and his flail (cherry toy) was sticking out of his pocket. Saygram was in a gloomy haze in another corner of the room.  
  
"What do you want, Xelloss?" Valgarv demanded. He and Xelloss got along fairly well, but Valgarv's manners often got on Xelloss' nerves, and Xelloss' saying, "Sore wa himitsu desu," drove little Val insane. "You know why; our Masters are out, and I'm stuck here all alone with nothing to do," Xelloss said, looking as sad as possible. Valgarv frowned, not falling for Xelloss' look of utter misery. "Where are we?" Saygram suddenly spoke up, paper crinkling as he looked around the pristine white room. "We are in Luna's house. She's a good friend of Lord Beastmaster. She's a Cephied Knight. Don't ask me how that works out. I'm stuck here, seeing as I'm the only servant Lord Beastmaster has," Xelloss explained.  
  
"And you want us to do you a favor- to stay here, am I right?" Valgarv said as he folded his arms. Xelloss smirked. Although Val was right, it wasn't as if he had a choice-Rashart and Raltark probably told them to stay with Xelloss until the Chaos Dragon returned. "I figured as much," Valgarv continued, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "You know how much I just -love- doing favors."  
  
"Is that so?" A new voice chimed in. The three little Mazoku spun around as two, no three new forms materialized. It was the Dynast's priests, Grau and Grou, and the little General, Sherra. Grau and Grou were identical twins looking to be about 10 years of age. Grau was holding little Sherra, who was a toddler, about 2, maybe 3 years of age by appearance. Sherra was looking at little Xelloss, Valgarv, and Saygram with interest as she sucked on her pacifier. She was clutching a stuffed penguin. "Then you can do a favor for us," Grau said. "Something's up in Dilss, and we need to go there and smooth things out before Grausherra-sama gets back, but we can't bring Sherra with," Grou explained. "So you all get to watch Sherra for a while!" Grau said happily as he held Sherra out to Xelloss. She stretched her arms toward him as he stepped forward to take her.  
  
"What if we don't want to?" Valgarv demanded, glaring at the twins. Xelloss sweatdropped and backed away from Valgarv. The twins' demeanor changed in an instant. The happy, innocent air about them dissipated as they frowned at Valgarv. "We aren't giving you a choice," Grou said flatly. Valgarv realized that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to refuse them. He backed away and averted his gaze. The tension in the room disappeared as Grau teleported in all the baby stuff they'd need for Sherra. "Here's everything we could think of," Grou said happily. The twins then teleported away, in a hurry to fix whatever problem had arisen in Dilss before Grausherra returned. As far as they were concerned, the Dynast didn't need to know about this.  
  
Everyone was silent for a few seconds before Valgarv said, "I don't like those two." Xelloss smiled wryly as he readjusted Sherra's position in his arms. "They're okay, just so long as you do what they tell you to do," Xelloss explained, "They really can't bring Sherra to Dilss; Lord Dynast forbade it." "How do you know that?" Saygram asked. "If they could bring Sherra, they would have. You know how protective Lord Dynast is. Grau and Grou will probably get into trouble for this. Crossing Lord Dynast is not something you want to do. He's crueler than Lord Hellmaster if he gets angry enough." This last comment left an uncomfortable silence as Valgarv and Saygram explored the implications of this.  
  
Luna's irritated voice suddenly shot up from downstairs, demanding that Xelloss and his guests come downstairs -right now-. "How the hell did she know we were up here?" Valgarv grumbled. Xelloss and Sherra simultaneously glared at him because of his language. In a minute, the four little mazoku were sitting on the couch in the sitting room. Luna was giving them an overview of the rules if they were to stay with her. She obviously didn't mind Valgarv, Saygram, and Sherra's presence, just so long as they didn't start any trouble. She had made a point of making it clear to Xelloss (and his little friends) that if they wanted any more company, they had to ask.  
  
After sleeping arrangements were made, (they were all going to sleep in the "white room") and it had been determined that Sherra could indeed eat solid food, Luna left them to their own devices as she left to do something very important that most likely involved being a Cephied Knight, sleeping on a sofa, that is. The little Mazoku had wandered back into the White Room and were sorting through Sherra's stuff. Or rather, Saygram was organizing the stuff while Valgarv and Xelloss ordered him around and Sherra played with her penguin, whose name was "Pen-pen" due to her inability to pronounce "penguin."  
  
"Look at all that stuff. They didn't skip a beat," Valgarv said, gazing at the stuff that Grau dropped off before the two had left. There was a crib, a little dresser with clothes, toys, toys, and toys. Various other baby things that have no names were in the room as well. "My, my, what do we have here?" Xelloss mused as he picked up a sword. Its hilt was black and white, with a very dark green tassel hanging down from the top. Its scabbard was black and white as well. "Why does she get a sword?" Valgarv demanded. Garv wouldn't let little Val within fifteen feet of a steak knife, let alone a sword. But who in their right mind would let that little terror near any instrument that has a blade? "Because she's a general. This is Dolgoufa, I believe." Xelloss said as he inspected the sword.  
  
Suddenly Dolgoufa flew out of Xelloss' hands, scabbard and all. It flew across the room, hitting little Val on the head. It slowed and lightly landed next to little Sherra. Valgarv rubbed his head, cursing softly. He blinked at the little girl. He couldn't help but get the feeling that she wasn't a young as she looked, even for a Mazoku. As if she was using the same trick as Lord Hellmaster. Sherra blinked back at Valgarv. She was the epitome of everything cute. She definitely had learned a thing or two from Lord Hellmaster, Valgarv decided.  
  
"D'gufa," she said, unable to pronounce Dolgoufa's name properly. 'It must get on the Dynast's nerves,' Xelloss thought. "Anyway," Xelloss asked happily, "what fun time thing do we want to do today?"  
  
Xelloss, Valgarv and Saygram were silent as they thought. The only noise in the room was the scrapes of Dolgoufa's scabbard on the floor as Sherra vainly tried to pick it up. "Hey, I have a great idea," Valgarv said, grinning evilly.  
  
`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~` I'm sorry; it took a while to update. So in compensation, I have updated two fics in one day. I have some fanart for this!! If you want them, say so in an E-mail, and I'll send them to you in a few days' time. If it takes longer, look in my bio. I'll post an explanation. I don't have a scanner; they are being scanned by my friends, soo...^^;  
  
I'm stopping here!! ^^ Did you love it? Abhor it? Please review it and tell me what you think! I thrive on reviews, and as always, constructive criticism is most welcome. 


	4. We want candy!

~Disclaimer: I don't own Slayers, so don't sue.  
  
Author's Notes: THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS!! I have a new Slayers manga!! In English! Zelgadis is in it!! My first Slayers manga with more than just Lina and Gourry!! ::huggles manga:: Oh, and there's slight Valgarv language in this, so don't say I didn't warn you!!  
  
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"Well?" Xelloss asked, "What is your ingenious idea?" Valgarv smiled evilly. Saygram sweatdropped, having a good idea of what Val was going to say. Even little Sherra had stopped trying to lift her sword up and was listening intently to the conversation. "Well, if you noticed when we went downstairs there was a kitchen-" "There's ALWAYS a kitchen," Val was cut off by Saygram, who was beginning to become a bit irritated. Val glared at Saygram before continuing his sentence. "As I was saying, the kitchen had absolutely NO sugary things in it!" Valgarv finished, lowering his voice dramatically as he completed his statement.  
  
"W-what do you mean, 'no sugary things?' As in, absolutely no dessert- y things? As in, we can't get a sugar high?" Xelloss asked. "Exactly. We need sugar," Valgarv said, his voice low with determination. "We don't have any money," Saygram blandly pointed out. "We don't need money," Valgarv huffed. "He does have a point," Xelloss said, smirking. "Besides, I'm hungry for more than just candy," Valgarv added.  
  
There was another scraping sound as Sherra toddled over, dragging Dolgoufa along with effort. The Oryhalcon metal that bound Dolgoufa in that form made the sword heavier than it had any right to be, not to mention that the ivory scabbard was also laced with intricate designs in Oryhalcon. It was a very pretty, incredibly heavy sword. The long, dark green tassel hanging from the top of the hilt was dragged along the ground as Sherra walked over.  
  
"Sherra-chan, perhaps it would be best to leave Dolgoufa here for now," Xelloss hurriedly said, "after all, the humans might get suspicious if you bring him." Xelloss quickly continued in a very convincing tone when Sherra's eyes welled up with tears, "You can bring him with when we go out tonight, okay?" Sherra calmed immediately. She turned toward little Val and stretched her arms toward him. "What the hell does she want?" Valgarv demanded, dodging a toy thrown at him by Xelloss. "I think she wants you to pick her up," Saygram said. "NO! Absolutely not! I am NOT going to carry this little brat around!!" Valgarv yelled.  
  
`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~` (Barely five minutes later.)  
  
"I CAN'T believe that I'm carrying her," Valgarv muttered to himself. Xelloss was leading the little troupe, with Valgarv behind him, with Sherra on piggyback. Saygram was bringing up the rear, earning more than a few stares because of the paper bag on his head. He sulked; he didn't like his "mask." Sherra, however, was having fun. She had the stuffed penguin grasped in one of her little hands, and took great joy in bopping Valgarv in the head with it every time he swore. They were searching for a candy store. They weren't about to stoop to asking the -humans- for directions, so they were basically just wandering aimlessly about, hoping to stumble across a candy store purely by luck.  
  
As the four little mazoku walked, many people were staring and there were quite a few hushed conversations concerning them as they walked by. Most conversations involved mentionings of Luna-san and how Xelloss was the little boy she'd had with her earlier. Saygram's "dodgy" appearance was another favorite topic of discussion. "Valgarv," Saygram whined. "What?" the irritated little mazoku asked as he whirled around to face Saygram, almost dropping Sherra in the process. "I don't think that this bag is working," Saygram said. Valgarv glared at Saygram. It wasn't so much that he was mad at Saygram, but he was mad because he had to carry Sherra. He would just drop her, but then Lord Dynast would skin him alive. Literally. And that would be just the prelude to the actual torture. After all, Lord Dynast was the most morbid of the Dark Lords, and was extraordinarily protective over his servants. Valgarv didn't want to be killed by Lord Dynast, and he couldn't stand the fact that the little brat was getting her way.  
  
Of course, Sherra wasn't as bad as Valgarv was making her out to be. To be put simply, she was a lot younger than Xelloss, Saygram, or Valgarv, and needed more attention than they did. And so she was constantly demanding it. At the Chaos Dragon's stronghold, Valgarv was the youngest, and wasn't used to little mazoku's constant demands. Xelloss was older than Valgarv and Saygram, and had been on many visits to the Northern Footholds with Lord Beastmaster. She has a....slight crush on Lord Dynast and likes to hit on him, much to his annoyance. And so, Xelloss is left with Grau, Grou, Sherra, and Norst. Needless to say, he was used to Sherra, and knew how to deal with her. Xelloss didn't know Norst that well. His human form was older than Grau and Grou's, even though the twins are older than him. Norst kept on changing it, too. The only constant was that it was invariably male.  
  
Xelloss was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a loud whoop from Valgarv. He saw a blur of aqua green and white, and then found himself suddenly holding a very startled Sherra. A blur of black, brown and red followed the first blur into a building. Absently, Xelloss bounced the upset toddler in his arms a few times as he headed into the candy store. The store owner brushed past him, obviously very upset about something. Xelloss used his powers to teleport the man into the store's cellar, and to keep him there while they raided his store. Xelloss almost felt bad. Almost.  
  
He put Sherra down and walked over to where Valgarv was elbow-deep in gummy bears. He had grabbed a bag and was stuffing the little bears into it as quickly as he could. Saygram was in another corner of the store, doing likewise with various chocolate treats. After seven silent minutes of candy-grabbing, the little mazoku decided that this was enough for now. Xelloss tore open a portal into a pocket dimension, and the bags were placed inside. They teleported back to Luna's house, but not before erasing the shopkeeper's memories. Normally, they would have killed him, but Lord Beastmaster's orders echoed strongly in Xelloss' mind, and he wouldn't let Valgarv or Saygram kill him. Sherra was too engrossed in the very idea of a little piece of candy shaped like a bear to care. She had never seen a gummy bear before; in the Northern Footholds, they just had ice cream, sherbet, snow cones, and the like for dessert when it was wanted. Lord Dynast probably didn't let her have a lot of candy, either.  
  
Within a few minutes, the four mazoku were back in the White Room, and were busily cleaning it up. The bed was a king-size, so Valgarv, Xelloss, and Saygram could all fit on it, and Sherra had her crib. It was all frilly and pink and yellow with white frame, a typical little girl's crib, and Xelloss thought that it probably clashed with the décor of her room at Lord Dynast's stronghold. The citadel was black, black, black, with a little blue thrown in and white curtains. Xelloss figured that the crib looked out of place in her room; it was probably the only pink or yellow in that whole citadel.  
  
Soon, the room was clean, and the little mazoku were happily munching on candy. Dolgoufa advised that they not mention the candy to Grau and Grou, and Xelloss wholeheartedly agreed. Those two had an obsession with anything sweet, and would probably take the candy away. "Grau...?" Sherra repeated, looking around the room. "No, he's not here," Xelloss told her. "How well can she speak?" Saygram asked. "Well, I'm not sure," Xelloss said, "I've never heard her speak a full sentence, but Norst said that she can speak just fine. He said that she just doesn't like to talk that much. According to him, she only really carries on a conversation with Lord Dynast, and occasionally with the twins or Norst. I don't think she likes the human language much." "Neither do I," Valgarv said from behind a chocolate-covered graham cracker. Mazoku speak primarily through telepathy. It's sort of like their "language." "You sure talk enough," Xelloss muttered.  
  
As they were saying this, Sherra had walked over to the door. Just as she reached it, it swung open, revealing Luna. Sherra stretched her arms toward the Ceipheed Knight, obviously wanting to be carried. After a moment, Luna picked the little girl up. "My little sister and her little friends are coming over. I -don't- want you killing -any- of them, nor do I want you to teach my sister any magic. They'll be staying a few days, and I want all four of you on your absolutely best behavior, got it?"  
  
Luna paused, and actually looked at the room. "Where did all these toys come from?" she asked, "And where did you get all this candy?" A few bags of the candy, such as chocolate-covered graham crackers, had found their way out of Xelloss' pocket dimension. "Well, Luna-san," Xelloss began, putting on his most innocent face, "Sherra's brothers dropped all the toys and the crib off when they brought Sherra here. And this candy is from a pocket dimension." That was the truth, not the whole truth, but Xelloss wasn't lying, either. Luna frowned, saying, "Don't let Lina or any of her friends have any. They're noisy and hyper enough without candy to stimulate them." "Okay!" Xelloss said, grinning hugely.  
  
Sherra had buried her face in Luna's shoulder, and was very comfortable in her arms. It looked like the little one wanted to sleep. Suddenly, Luna heard knocking on her front door, and someone calling her, sounding angry. Luna's temper flared at the insolence of this fool, and went downstairs to beat whoever it was who dared to disturb her. It was a neighbor, of course. They had moved into Zephelia recently, and were pious to a fault. They devoutly served Cepheid's temples, but took all the preachings too literally. The man had heard that Luna was harboring Mazoku in her home. He didn't know what Luna was, and wanted her to hand the Mazoku over to the town to be killed.  
  
Luna flung the door open. The irate woman glowered at the man. He glared back at her, but was taken aback by her aura of authority. He was also surprised to see her holding a very young child in her arms. He knew she had a little sister, but this little one wasn't her. She was too little, and didn't even look like Lina. She had shiny blue hair and green eyes, pale and bright. The child was blinking sleepily at the man, the pacifier in her mouth moving slightly as she sucked on it. She looked to be two, maybe three. Her skin was very pale, as though she had never been out into the sun.  
  
"What do you want?" Luna's demand brought the man's attention back to the matter at hand. "Luna, I heard that you are harboring Mazoku in your home! Hand them over to the town, so we can destroy these horrible monsters." Luna just stared at the man. 'What a moron,' she thought, 'as if these people had an inkling of a chance of killing one of the mazoku that I'm babysitting. Even if they did manage to kill one, they'd do just that. Kill it. It would just come back to life (1).' "Who are you to order me around?" Luna demanded. "I'll do as I please; besides I have no -monsters- here." It was true; the little ones had been fairly good, especially for young Mazoku. It was hard for them not to kill people; after all, they fed on the pain and anguish. The man prepared to enter by force, but Luna just fireballed him and put a barrier around the house. Luna slammed the door shut.  
  
"My, my, what maniacs there are in this world," Xelloss said from behind Luna. She turned around. The other three Mazoku had come downstairs, curious about the yelling. Sherra had curled up in Luna's arms again and was fast asleep. "She sleeps a lot," Xelloss said offhandedly. Luna shifted the sleeping girl slightly in her arms, saying, "Lina and her little friends are going to be here in an hour or so, get cleaned up." "What?" Valgarv demanded. "You know," Luna snapped, "go take a bath, get cleaned up." Xelloss sighed and dragged the cursing Valgarv upstairs. "I'll go first," he said. Luna watched the retreating mazoku and sighed. What had she done to deserve this?  
  
`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~` (1) When a mazoku is "killed," it can come back. "Killing" it is just destroying its physical form. In order to get rid of a mazoku for good, one must ruin it. To ruin a mazoku is to obliterate it completely, to eradicate its thoughts. Technically, all a mazoku is is thought, because the Astral Plane is a mental plane. Phibrizzo was ruined by L-sama, for example. She completely destroyed him, and he retreated into the Sea of Chaos.  
  
And that ends Chapter 3! As for the pictures...my scanner person is ill, so she hasn't scanned them yet. If worst comes to worst, I suppose I could go to a copy store and scan them...for money...;.; But I WILL send them as soon as I can. So, what do you think? Yes, the Lina-tachi is coming in next chapter! Remember, I only update if I get reviews, so review it!!  
  
You know you want to... 


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